Zimbabwe has accused the United States of lying about the use of forced labour in its diamond-mining industry. The US State Department recently released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which found that Zimbabwe was using forced labour in its diamond-mining sector. The report said that the country had failed to take adequate steps to end the practice and that the government had failed to investigate or prosecute those responsible.
The US report claimed that the Zimbabwe government had not taken any meaningful action to address the use of forced labour in its diamond-mining industry. It said that the government had not investigated or prosecuted any cases of forced labour and had not implemented any measures to protect workers from exploitation. The report also noted that the government had not taken any steps to ensure that children were not being used in the diamond-mining industry.
In response, Zimbabwe’s Minister of Information, Publicity and Broadcasting Services, Nick Mangwana, said that the US report was “false and malicious” and accused the US of lying about the situation in the country. He said that the government had taken steps to address the issue of forced labour in the diamond-mining industry, including introducing a new law in 2019 that criminalised the use of forced labour. He also said that the government had set up a task force to investigate and prosecute cases of forced labour in the sector.
Mangwana also accused the US of “seeking to undermine the efforts of the Zimbabwean government to develop its diamond-mining industry”. He said that the US was “seeking to paint an entirely false picture of the situation in the country” and was “seeking to discredit the efforts of the Zimbabwean government to ensure that the sector is conducted in a responsible and ethical manner”.
The US report on Zimbabwe’s diamond-mining industry is part of an annual series of reports on human trafficking around the world. The US State Department has been issuing these reports since 2001, and they are used to assess the progress of countries in combating human trafficking. The reports are also used to inform the US government’s decision-making on which countries will receive US aid and assistance.
The US report on Zimbabwe’s diamond-mining industry follows a similar report on the country’s gold-mining industry, which was released in 2018. That report found that the Zimbabwean government had failed to take adequate steps to end the use of forced labour in the gold-mining sector. It also noted that the government had not taken any steps to ensure that children were not being used in the industry.
The US reports on Zimbabwe’s diamond-mining and gold-mining industries come at a time when the country is facing increasing economic challenges. The country is struggling with high levels of unemployment and poverty, and the reports are likely to further damage the country’s reputation in the international community.
The US reports on Zimbabwe’s diamond-mining and gold-mining industries have been met with criticism from the Zimbabwean government. The government has accused the US of “maliciously targeting” the country and “seeking to undermine its efforts to develop its diamond-mining and gold-mining industries”.
The US reports have also been criticised by human rights organisations, who say that the reports are overly critical of the Zimbabwean government and do not take into account the efforts that the government has made to address the issue of forced labour. Human Rights Watch, for example, has said that the US reports “ignore the progress the government has made in the past year in strengthening laws and policies to protect workers”.
It is clear that the US reports on Zimbabwe’s diamond-mining and gold-mining industries have caused a great deal of controversy. While the US reports have highlighted the need for the Zimbabwean government to take further steps to address the issue of forced labour in the country’s diamond-mining and gold-mining industries, they have also been criticised for being overly critical of the government and for failing to take into account the progress that has been made in recent years.
